SoMo in San Francisco

    Welcome to the stage... 

Mr. Joseph Somers-Morales

http://sorry4theblog.com/somo-earned-it/

  I tend to have this sweet spot in my heart for great R&B music. I grew up listening to Diana Ross & the Supremes, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, and any other soul singing vocalists. So there's no surprise that when SoMo released his first single 'Ride' in 2012, I instantly became a fan. His voice is a smooth mix between Trey Songz and Ne-Yo with a hint of old school soul. 

          A little bit about the artist...

Joseph Somers-Morales was born in Denton,Texas and grew up loving music due to his father being in a band, although he wasn't in his life much. In 2008, his mom bought him a piano for Christmas and he became a self taught artist. 

In 2009, he recorded Chris Brown's song 'Crawl' for his Youtube channel and quickly became an internet sensation. He continued making covers of other R&B and Rap songs along with incorporating his own original work. His stage name came to be from a 7th grade love letter addressed to "Jo SoMo". 
(what a heart breaker)

Timeline

December 2008- Mom buys piano and the start of a self taught artist begins

2009- First Youtube video is uploaded for the world and everyone goes nuts!

2009-2011- Curating more popular covers for Youtube videos

2011- Drake's Take Care cover is the start of his internet sensation

2012-Creating his own music instead of just covers and begins an independent tour. (remember the song, 'Ride'? It was hot, steamy and the girls went crazy!)

2013- He released his first mixtape in September for free. In October, Republic Records signs him. He began a "SoMo Sunday" campaign to release a new weekly Youtube video on Sundays.

2014- In April, he released his second album, SoMo under Republic Records 

2015- TODAY! He released a new album on his 28th birthday September 11th and began touring across the states. 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoMo

Kastania's Experience 

I love watching artists bring to life their own experiences into the lyrics of their music and having it resonate with their fans. It's an experience that can only be felt during a live performance. 

His performance was smooth and sexy. The girls were going crazy, although most of them were in high school. His music ranges from R&B to pop to a little bit of a rap, depending on who you're asking. Overall it was a fairly mellow crowd for the 28 year old self taught artist. 

PS pictures do not do this man justice, he's so good looking in person. WOAH!

And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love

 BΔSTILLE in San Francisco 

Bastille came to the Bay Area this week and yet again, sold out another amazing show. The energy that the group has on stage is completely electric. Whether you're apart of the fan girl "stormer's" or not, this band plays the type of music that anyone can really enjoy. Their single, "Pompeii" is not only catchy, but it has topped the charts in both the US and the UK. Bastille's sound has electric, rock, indie and R&B influences which makes them sound different than any other ordinary band. 

I went to the concert with a few friends from work. Check out their blogs as well!

Angeliners

Nikki Jean Photography

This English rock band formed in London in 2010. Within the last four years, the group has completely taken over the alternative music scene. Bastille's front man Dan was the first to create the group and found the other three; Will, Kyle and Woody. Dan's birthday is celebrated on July 14th, which also lands on Bastille Day, the French national holiday which helped the group find a perfect band name. In December 2010, Virgin Records signed a recording contract with Bastille. In April 2012, the first single, "Overjoyed" was released. The song that took them to the top was 'Pompeii" featured on their first studio album. 

Their first studio album, Bad Blood was released March 2013 and flew to the top of the UK charts. In November 2014, Bastille sold 5 million records in the US and 2.5 million in the UK. As they continue to top the charts, keep an eye out for their new album coming soon after their tour comes to an end within the next few months. 

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_(band) 

http://www.bastillebastille.com/home/

Yahoo Images

Album Cover 

Bring your love baby I could bring my shame

 The Weeknd in San Francisco

 

My long awaited dreams have come true to finally see this amazing artist live at the Bill Graham Civic Center in San Francisco. Although the tickets were a little outrageous, the concert was well worth the wait. The Weeknd is not only a phenomenal songwriter, but his presence on the stage and vocal range gives chills to anyone watching live. He might not be corrupted by the music industry just yet, and this could be a reason why his voice sounded so raw and passionate. Or he could actually be one of the best artists, killing the game. His lyrics are truthful and resonate with his fans in a way other R&B artists seem to lack. The Weeknd originally stopped in San Francisco for only one day on the tour, but after selling this out so quickly, they added an additional three days in the SF Bay Area.

I have no doubt in my mind that The Weeknd will continue to change the R&B music industry through his collaborative and creative work. If you haven't heard him yet, I'd recommend downloading his first few mixtapes.

Discography:

House of Balloons (2011)

Thursday (2011)

Echoes of Silence (2011)

Trilogy (2012)

Kiss Land (2013)

 The twenty-four year old Grammy nominated singer and song writer originates from Canada and is best known for his R&B/hip hop vocal teachings. Many people would best recognize him as being featured on Drake's album, Take Care, along with being his opening act during the concert tour, "Would you like a tour?" Within the past four years, Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd, recently blew up his career by posting videos onto his Youtube channel. The power of social media is the reason why he is such a success today. Through word of mouth and the world of blogging, he received coverage on the New York Times and thus creating his claim to fame. Through a few mixtapes and the amazing cover of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana", he landed a recording contract through Republic Records. The long awaited debut studio album titled, Kiss Land was released September 10th. His current tour, King of the Fall, features opening acts by ScHoolboy Q and Jhene Aiko.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_(rapper)#Discography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeknd

http://www.theweeknd.com/

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/6205405/code-picks-of-the-week-weeknd-sam-smith-more 

Live 105.3 presents BFD 2014

Live 105.3 the Bay Area's alternative radio station presented their 20th annual BFD music festival this past weekend. 

With over 25,000 people in attendance, this sold out crowd enjoyed a wide variety of musical artists. Five stages were set up around the Shoreline Arena for this event which included performances by local bands, upcoming artists and big name musicians. 

As a lover of all types of music, I couldn't help but get excited for the artists that were about to hit the stage. This was my first BFD music  festival I've ever attended and I have to say that this was quite the experience. It was a different experience attending the event as a staff member instead of as an artist or guest but the memories are still unforgettable.  
I was working at the promotions tent for the majority of the festival along with getting to interact with our listeners. I also had the pleasure of announcing a local band to the stage. Later in the night we had the opportunity to watch the acts from backstage which was by far the best experience of this entire event.
This job has been nothing but a blessing in disguise and I hope to continue my career in the music industry in one way or another. You know you have a passion for something when you don't feel like it's work; it's just fun.








***Disclaimer: This blog post is depicted on my experiences alone and does not depict the values or standards of anyone working for CBS radio.***

Welcome to...

Welcome to Society of Fashion

About Kastania

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Sonoma County to study Communications. After graduating from college during the worst years to find a job, I decided to start blogging my awesome adventures and early adulthood experiences in order to make up for all the free time I have on my hands.

I am a fashion obsessed, music lover, concert junkie, movie buff and adventure enthusiast trying to make my mark in the world.